• BOOK NOW FOR AUTUMN WEEKEND SCHOOLS



    Click on this link for further information on Weekend Schools. You will be able to choose and book one. On the 12th November we will open up the remaining places and you will be able to book additional Weekend Schools.

    Click Here



Available courses

23/24 Story Structure. Monday am (in-person)

This is the Story Structure Monday Morning group (10am - 12.30pm) for 2nd year CWP writers. 

23/24 Writing Workshops, Monday am (in-person)

This is the Writing Workshops Monday Morning group (10am - 12.30pm) for 2nd year CWP writers. 

23/24 Story Structure. Monday eve (blended)

This is the Story Structure Monday Evening group (6.30pm - 9pm) for 2nd year CWP writers. 

23/24 Writing Workshops Monday eve (blended)

This is the Writing Workshops Monday evening group (6.30pm - 9pm) for 2nd year CWP writers.

23/24 Approaches to Writing. Tuesday am (in-person)

This is the Approaches to Writing Tuesday Morning group (10am - 12.30pm) for 1st year CWP writers. 

23/24 Tactics for Writing. Tuesday am (in-person)

This is the Tactics for Writing Tuesday Morning group (10am - 12.30pm) for 1st year CWP writers. 

23/24 Advanced Poetry Workshop. Autumn Term Tuesday am (online)

This is the Advanced Poetry Workshop Tuesday Morning group (10am - 12.30pm) Autumn Term. 

23/24 Advanced Poetry Workshop. Spring. Tuesday am (online)

This is the Advanced Poetry Workshop Tuesday Morning group (10am - 12.30pm) Spring Term. 

23/24 Approaches to Writing. Tuesday eve (blended)

This is the Approaches to Writing Tuesday Evening group (6.30pm - 9pm) for 1st year CWP writers. 

23/24 Tactics for Writing. Tuesday eve (blended)

This is the Tactics for Writing Tuesday Evening group (6.30pm - 9pm) for 1st year CWP writers. 

23/24 Approaches to Writing. Wed am (online)

This is the Approaches to Writing Wednesday Morning group (10am - 12.30pm) for 1st year CWP writers. 

23/24 Tactics for Writing. Wed am (online)

This is the Tactics for Writing Wednesday Morning group (10am - 12.30pm) for 1st year CWP writers. 

23/24 Advanced Writing Workshop. Wed eve (in-person)

This is the Advanced Writing Workshop Wednesday Evening group (6pm - 9pm) monthly meetings. 

Tutors' Forum

This is the tutor page for tutors on the Creative Writing Programme to share ideas and materials.

All courses

Site news

Weekend Schools: Improving your dialogue

by Cathy Hayward -

This workshop we will look at some of the ways to improve your characters' dialogue to make it work harder

‘Lots of people really enjoy writing dialogue.’

‘And people love reading it.’

‘It’s hard to get it right though, isn’t it?’

‘Begorrah, it is, to be sure.’

‘For instance, in attempting to give someone an accent, you can fall into embarrassing stereotypes.’

‘Some writers allow the dialogue tag to carry more weight than the actual dialogue,’ she yelled furiously.

‘And others dump dull information into dialogue that either isn’t necessary or goes on far too long when dialogue should be short and snappy, you can’t write how people talk in real life or it comes out, er, like weird, uh, or something.’

‘I wish there was a weekend school where we could test out and hone our dialogue.’

Book your tickets for the improving dialogue workshop. It costs £40 for five hours' tuition. 

The workshop will be led by Beth Miller. Beth is the author of six novels, including the bestselling The Missing Letters of Mrs Bright (2020). Her most recent novel, The Woman Who Came Back to Life (2022), will be published in seven languages. She has also published two non-fiction books about Shakespeare and the Archers. She is a Royal Literary Fund Fellow at Brighton University and teaches creative writing at various places, including for Arvon.

The session will run from 10-4pm in central Brighton with an hour for lunch. The venue is wheelchair accessible and a three-minute walk to St James' Street with its array of shops and eateries. There are also coffee and tea making facilities at the venue, together with a fridge and microwave if you want to bring your own lunch. Book your ticket now. 

The workshop is part of a series of four Weekend Schools held this autumn. They are open to existing students on the Creative Writing Programme and other writers looking to improve specific areas of their writing craft. Other workshops include:

• Friday 24th November: Creating Memorable Characters - Laura Wilkinson (in-person in Brighton) £40

• Saturday 25th November: Boosting your Creativity – Roy McFarlane – (in-person in Brighton) £40

• Sunday 3rd December: Imagery, Symbolism and Metaphor in Prose – John McCullough (online) £30

If you have any questions about this workshop, or any of the others, please email cathy@creativewritingprogramme.org.uk



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Weekend Schools: Creating Memorable Characters

by Cathy Hayward -

When we think of great works of fiction – and our favourite books – it tends to be the characters that linger long after the intricacies of plot have faded: Scarlett O’Hara, Nazneen Ahmed, Scrooge, Elizabeth Bennet, Baby Kochamma and so on.

What is it that makes these characters so unforgettable? They’re not all good, or likeable. How do we build characters readers care about?

In this full-day workshop – on Friday 24th November – we will be looking at some of the different ways to find our characters, how to make them credible and complex, and the tools we have to show them to our readers.

The workshop will be led by Laura Wilkinson. Laura has published six novels for adults (two under a pseudonym) and numerous short stories. Her contemporary fiction is published by Headline Accent. These novels are Crossing the Line, The Family Line, Redemption Song and Skin Deep. Crossing the Line was a Welsh Books Council book of the month and Skin Deep has been widely praised. Alongside writing, she runs workshops on craft and has spoken at literary events nationwide.

Over the past decade she’s worked as a creative writing tutor for organisations including New Writing South and on the MA programme at West Dean. She is also a structural editor and mentor for leading literary consultancies, coaching writers to competition short listings and publication.

The session will run from 10-4pm with an hour for lunch. The venue is wheelchair accessible and a three-minute walk to St James' Street with its array of shops and eateries. There are also coffee and tea making facilities at the venue, together with a fridge and microwave if you want to bring your own lunch.

Find out more and book your tickets here. 

The workshop is part of a series of four Weekend Schools held this autumn. They are open to existing students on the Creative Writing Programme and other writers looking to improve specific areas of their writing craft. Other workshops include:

• Saturday 25th November: The creative act – Roy McFarlane (in-person in Brighton) £40

• Sunday 26th November: Speaking of which: Improving your dialogue – Beth Miller (in-person in Brighton) £40

• Sunday 3rd December: Imagery, Symbolism and Metaphor in Prose – John McCullough (online) £30

Find out more and book your tickets here. 

If you have any questions about this workshop, or any of the others, please email cathy@creativewritingprogramme.org.uk


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